System and method for forming a container having a grip region

ABSTRACT

A container forming assembly and method includes receiving a parison within a cavity of a mold, enclosing the parison within the mold having a wall with a recess, inflating the parison in the mold to form a blow molded container where the blow molded container has a sidewall, a movable region formed at the recess, and a hinge circumscribing an interface between the sidewall and the movable region, and moving the movable region toward an interior of the blow molded container about the hinge before filling.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to a method for blow molding acontainer, and more particularly to a method for blow molding acontainer to be formed with deep-set grips so that the formed containerhas secure grippability along with a good ergonomic feel.

2. Related Art

One method of manufacturing containers is through a process known asstretch blow molding. In this process, a preformed parison, or preform,is prepared from a thermoplastic material, typically by an injectionmolding process. The preform typically includes a threaded end, whichbecomes the threads of the container. During stretch blow molding, thepreform is positioned between two open blow mold halves. The blow moldhalves close about the preform and cooperate to provide a cavity intowhich the preform is blown to form the container. Once the mold isclosed, a gas is forced into the perform causing it to stretch and totake the shape of the mold as the plastic contacts the mold. Aftermolding, the mold halves open to release the blow molded container.

One problem with stretch blow molding is that stretching of the plasticmaterial may affect the performance of the container at certain areas.While the stretching of the plastic material may not cause problems formost sections of the container, it particularly affects the ability ofthe plastic material to form around a deep protrusion in the mold. Insome applications of container manufacturing, a deep protrusion may berequired to form a particular section of a container. For example, theparticular sections of the container formed by an inset or deepprotrusion may include the dome, sidewalls, and the base of thecontainer. As the plastic contacts the deep protrusion of the mold, theplastic must stretch and flow around the protrusion into a recess.However, the plastic material is less able to flow and stretch aroundthe protrusion because of the contact friction with the moid surface.Insufficient material distribution at a region, such as at the base, mayaffect the ability of the region to maintain its shape around theprotrusion during hot filling, the strength of the region, or theability of the container to stand on a flat surface.

A lack of definition in the base caused by the inability of the plasticto properly form at a deep protrusion is a particular problem. Whilethis is a particular problem in the base region, similar problems existin other regions of a container where an inset is positioned. As statedpreviously, these other regions formed with an inset or deep protrusioninclude the dome, the sidewalls, etc. of a container. These problems canexist with any forming process, such as blow molding, where materialmust flow around a protrusion of a mold to form an inset region of acontainer. This is particularly true for blow molding processesincluding stretch blow molding, extrusion blow molding and injectionblow molding.

Some containers have deep-set grips on either side of the bottle so thata consumer can easily pick up the filled container with a firm grasp ofhis/her hand. When blowing deep-set grips with known blow moldingprocesses, plastic material becomes trapped in the grip regionsconsequently starving other regions of the container of material. Toaccount for this, the container weight is increased as more material isrequired to be used to ensure that a sufficient amount of material isprovided for all parts of the container. Alternatively, designcompromises are made so that the resultant thinner regions are closer tothe axis of the container causing those regions to be blown with morematerial. However, blowing heavier containers and the resultant designconstraints do not solve the problem described above.

What is needed is an improved method of forming a container with adeep-set protrusion (e.g., in the base and/or as a grip) that overcomesthe shortcomings of conventional solutions that introduce additionalcosts, molding time, and complexity into the mold setup.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention is to create a deep-set grip in a containerthat provides secure grippability along with a good ergonomic feel inthe resultant container. In a preferred embodiment, the deep-set grip isachieved in a manner to maintain the overall container weight at an asminimal a weight as possible, and to allow for a wide range of designapplications.

The invention includes a container forming assembly including a moldhaving a sidewall with a recess, and a method for making the container.

A method according to exemplary embodiments of the invention includesreceiving a parison, enclosing the parison within a mold having a wallwith a recess, inflating the parison into the mold to form a blow moldedcontainer where the blow molded container has a sidewall, a movableregion formed at the recess that extends outward from the container, anda hinge circumscribing an interface between the sidewall and the movableregion, and moving the movable region about the hinge before filling theblow molded container with liquid or other consumable product.

A container forming assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention forms a container from a parison where the container has atleast one movable gripping region. The container forming assemblyincludes a mold adapted to form a first portion and a second portion ofthe at least one movable gripping region wherein the first portion isrotatable about a first hinge toward an interior of the container, thefirst hinge being formed at a first seam between the first portion andthe container, and said second portion is rotatable about a second hingetoward the interior of the container, the second hinge being formed at asecond seam between the second portion and the container; and a drivemechanism adapted to move the mold to enclose the parison during blowmolding and to release the container after blow molding.

Another exemplary method according to the invention is directed to amethod for increasing crystallinity of a blow molded container. Thisexemplary method includes inflating a parison in a mold having a wallwith a recess to form a blow molded container having a movable grippingregion, the movable gripping region being formed at the recess, the blowmolded container having a hinge coupled to said movable gripping region,the hinge circumscribing an interface between the blow molded containerand the movable gripping region; and moving the movable gripping regionabout said hinge toward an interior of said blow molded container beforefilling the blow molded container.

The container forming assembly according to another exemplary embodimentwould include a first mold half forming a first movable gripping regionand a second mold half forming a second movable gripping region wherethe second movable gripping region has hinges, rotatable portions andthe structure of the first movable gripping region.

In the exemplary embodiment, each of the first and second mold halveshave a recess forming a movable gripping portion forming region thatincludes a first surface adapted to form a first outer grip portion ofthe movable gripping region, a second surface adapted to form a secondouter grip portion of the movable gripping region, a third surfaceadapted to form a first inner grip portion of the movable grippingregion, a fourth surface adapted to form a second inner grip portion ofthe movable grip portion; and a fifth surface area adapted to form aridge area of the movable gripping portion.

The container forming assembly of the foregoing exemplary embodiment mayfurther have its fifth surface area positioned between the third andfourth surfaces, and wherein the third and fourth surfaces positionedadjacent to the first and second surfaces, respectively.

Further advantages, as well as the structure and function of exemplaryembodiments will become apparent from a consideration of thedescription, drawings, and examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following, more particular description of exemplaryembodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numbers may generally indicateidentical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a first stage of a containerwith the deep-set grip inverted, according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a cross sectional view of the exemplary container of FIG.1 according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-B depict an exemplary embodiment inverting a grip of acontainer according to the present invention:

FIG. 4 illustrates a parison received before a mold according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary blow molded container witha movable region according to the invention;

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates another exemplary blow molded containerwith a movable region being inverted prior to release from the mold oneach side of the container;

FIGS. 7A-C schematically illustrate the movable region of the exemplarycontainer being inverted after release from the mold;

FIG. 8 illustrates a mold for forming half of the container shown inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the mold that can be activated to push inan outwardly protruding region toward the center of the container.

Further objectives and advantages, as well as the structure and functionof exemplary embodiments will become apparent from a consideration ofthe description, drawings, and examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. Indescribing the exemplary embodiments, specific terminology is employedfor the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to belimited to the specific terminology so selected. While specificexemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that thisis done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevantart will recognize that other components and configurations may be usedwithout parting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Allreferences cited herein are incorporated by reference as if each hadbeen individually incorporated.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention may generally relate to acontainer, a method of inverting a grip of a container, and a blowmolding apparatus for forming a container having an invertible grip. Inan exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a blow-molding apparatus 10may receive a parison 12 and enclose the parison with a mold 14 a-cwhich may include a recess 16 in the outer surface of the mold 14 b. Theblow-molding apparatus 10 may inflate the parison into the mold to forma blow molded container 100 (see FIG. 5). The blow molded container 100may have a sidewall, a movable region 18 formed at the recess 16, and ahinge circumscribing an interface between the sidewall of container 100and the movable region 18. The blow-molding apparatus may be adapted tomove the movable region 18 about the hinge before filling the blowmolded container 100. An internal volume of the blow molded containermay be reduced by moving the movable region 18 into the center of thecontainer 100 (arrow 22 in FIGS. 6 and 7A) as schematically shown inFIG. 7C. The movable region 18 may form a grip for the container 100. Byblow molding the movable region 18 or grip in its outward position(outside the container) and then inverting the movable region to formthe grip by using a simple mechanical force, the weight of the containermay be reduced and the definition of the grip may be improved.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a container representingthe shape of the container as stretch blow molded according to thepresent invention, FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of amovable region of a container in its outwardly blown position accordingto the present invention, and FIGS. 3A-B illustrate an exemplaryembodiment of the movable region of a container in its outwardly blownposition and the final configuration of the grip according to thepresent invention, respectively.

The exemplary embodiments will initially be discussed with reference toFIGS. 1-2. According to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, container 100 is blow molded into the shape as schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective side view of theexemplary container 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. As depicted, the container 100 includes an upperportion 102, a shoulder 104, a container body 106, and a base 108. Theupper portion 102 of the container 100 generally is any structure havingan opening into the interior of the container 100 and being adapted toreceive a closure (not shown). The closure may be any device used tocreate a substantially air tight seal for a hot-filled product withinthe container 100, thus substantially preventing air from entering thecontainer 100 through the upper portion 102. In one exemplaryembodiment, the upper portion 102 includes threads 112 that are adaptedto couple with a closure that is a twist-on cap. The cap may be twistedonto the threads 112 of the upper portion 102 to create a seal with thecontainer 100. In an alternative embodiment, a sealing plug may beplaced in the upper portion 102 to seal the container 100. Otherclosures or seals may be used, as will be appreciated by those of skillin the art.

The shoulder 104 of the container 100 extends from the top of thecontainer body 106 to the bottom of the upper portion 102. Generally,the shoulder 104 narrows as it progresses from the container body 106 tothe bottom of the upper portion 102. The shoulder 104 may have anydesired shape, or may be omitted from the container 100. The shoulder104 may include patterns, shapes, and other geometries, oralternatively, may be substantially smooth. In the depicted embodiment,the width of the bottom of the shoulder 104 corresponds to the width ofthe top of the container body 106, and narrows by curving inward as theshoulder 104 approaches the upper portion 102. The shoulder 104 curvesoutward before reaching the upper portion 102, and then curves inward asthe shoulder 104 reaches the upper portion 102. The shoulder 104 may beother shapes and include other patterns, as will be appreciated by thoseof skill in the art.

The container body 106 of the container 100 extends from the base 108 tothe shoulder 104 and defines an interior of the container 100. Thecontainer body 106 is positioned below the shoulder 104. In analternative embodiment, if the shoulder 104 is omitted from thecontainer 100, the container body 106 extends to the upper portion 102.The container body 106 may be any asymmetrical or symmetrical shape,such as, but not limited to, cylindrical, square, rectangular, or othergeometries. Optionally, the container body 106 of the container 100 mayinclude patterned support structure or vacuum panels. The patternedsupport structure and the vacuum panels may help provide structuralintegrity for the container 100.

In the depicted embodiment, the container body 106 has ribs 112positioned at various locations on the container 100. The ribs 112 maybe a series of recessed sections alternating with non-recessed sectionson the container body 106. The ribs 112 may include other types andshapes and may also be placed at alternate locations on the containerbody 106, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. The ribs112 may also be omitted from the container body 106, or may be placed atother locations on the container 100.

The container body 106 may also include a movable region 110 thatinitially is blow molded outside of the container 100 (see FIG. 6). Themovable region 110 is comprised of a number of surfaces in the grip areaof the container body 106. The number of surfaces are arranged in a wayso that an external force (arrow 22) acting on the grip area causes thesurfaces to fold in relation to one another until such a point wherethey snap into an inverted position toward the interior of the container100. As depicted in FIG. 2, the movable region 110 may include a firsthinge or seam 202, a first portion 204, a first inner wall 206, a secondhinge or seam 214, a second portion 212, a second inner wall 210, athird hinge or seam 208, a fourth hinge or seam 216, and a fifth hingeor seam 218. The first hinge or seam 202 couples the first portion 204so that portion 204 of the container body 106 is initially blow moldedoutside the container body 106 and then can be pushed inside thecontainer as shown in FIGS. 3A-B, respectively. The second hinge or seam214 couples the second portion 212 so that second portion 212 can bepushed inside the container 106 by pivoting about second hinge or seam214. The fifth hinge or seam 218 couples the first portion 204 with thefirst inner wall 206, and the fourth hinge or seam 216 couples thesecond portion 212 with the second inner wall 210 so that these portionscan be pushed inside container 106. The inverted movable region 110 isshown in FIG. 3B.

The mold of the container forming assembly shown in FIGS. 4-6 may bemade of first and second mold halves 14 a, 14 b that each may include awall with a recess to form respective first and second movable grippingregions 110. The gripping-regions 110 are initially blown outside thecontainer and then inverted so that a consumer's hand easily fits intothe inverted gripping regions.

Initially, when the container 100 is blow molded, the movable region 110is formed extending away from the interior of the container 100. FIG. 3Aillustrates the movable region 110 as blow molded extending away fromthe interior of the container 100, and FIG. 3B illustrates the movableregion 110 extending toward the interior of the container 100 afterinversion. During inversion, a force may be applied to cause the movableregion 110 to invert. As the to force is applied, the first portion 204rotates about the first hinge or seam 202 and the second portion 212rotates about the second hinge or seam 214. Additionally, the firstportion 204 rotates about the fifth hinge or seam 218 relative to thefirst inner wall 206, the second portion 212 rotates about the fourthhinge or seam 216 relative to the second inner wall 210, and the firstinner wall 206 rotates about the third hinge or seam 208 relative to thesecond inner wall 210. That is, a many sided movable region 110 isinitially blown outside the container thereby avoiding the need for amold with a deep-set protrusion around which plastic material hasdifficulty forming the desired thickness about the protrusion. Then, theweights of the plastic at the hinges or seams along with the angles ofthe first and second portions and the inner walls are designed so thatmovable region 110 can be inverted into the container to form a deep-setgrip(s) that a consumer can securely grip and that has a good ergonomicfeel to the consumer. The container wall thickness at the hinges isthinner than the surrounding portions or inner walls, which are heavieras the plastic naturally moves in this manner. The angles of the firstand second portions and the inner walls should be sufficiently steep sothat the desired depth of a grip is achieved and the desired ergonomicfeel.

During inversion, a sufficient force may be applied to the movableregion 110 formed outside the container while the container 100 remainswithin the mold 14 a-c (see FIG. 5). As the Assignee of the presentinvention has successfully inverted projections blown outside the baseof the container, enough force needs to be applied to the movable region110 to cause inversion. In one embodiment, the inversion of the moveableregion 18 (110 in FIGS. 1-3B) may occur as late into the blowing processas possible so that the container 100 is allowed to cool as muchpossible before the container 100 is released or ejected from the mold.The longer the container and movable region can cool, a better inversionresult can be achieved. This is because the warmer the container isduring inversion, the higher the probability that the container willcrease at an undesired location resulting in an aesthetically unpleasingcontainer and thus, a rejected container. The inversion may occur justbefore the container is ejected or released from the mold to reduce thelikelihood that the inversion will form unwanted creases or deformitiesin the container 100. An air cylinder (not shown) may be used for theinversion of the movable region 110 by applying a force to the firstportion 204 and to second inner wall 210. Alternatively, othermechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or cam operated means for invertingmay be used, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Forexample, the cam operated means may be included within the mold and themovable region may be inverted while the mold fully encloses the formedcontainer.

The container 100 is blow molded into the shape depicted in FIG. 3A toavoid trapping material in recessed areas of a complex shaped mold andto improve the performance (less rejected containers) of the container100 at the movable region 110 without increasing the amount of materialto the region. The movable region 110 is formed into the shape shown inFIG. 3A to ensure that all surfaces of the movable region are properlyformed with sufficient amounts of material and have sufficientdefinition. An advantage of forming the movable region 110 extendingaway from the interior of the container is that the rigidity at themovable region 110 is increased by allowing for further orientation ofplastic material during the blow molding process (see FIGS. 1, 2, and3A), as compared with initially forming the container with a deep-setprotrusion extending toward the interior of the container (see FIG. 3B).By having the movable region 110 extend away from the interior of thecontainer 100, the orientation of plastic material in the movable region1 10 is increased since the mold would not trap material, but wouldallow the plastic material to further stretch into a cavity of a mold toform the movable region 110 during blow molding. As the orientation ofthe plastic molecules increases, the molecules straighten and may form acrystalline structure. Typically, the higher the crystallinity of theplastic, the greater the rigidity of the plastic, which improves thestructural integrity of the container 100 at the movable region 110. Asimilar process for increasing orientation is also described inco-pending U.S. Provisional Utility Patent Application No. 60/671,459,filed Apr. 15, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

It is noted that if the container 100 would be initially blow moldedinto the shape depicted in FIG. 3B, the movable region 110 would not befully formed at the region near the first hinge or seam 202 and near thesecond hinge or seam 212. This is the result of forming a container withthe stretch blow molding technique. As a container is being stretch blowmolded, gas stretches plastic material against a mold for the container,such as a mold for the container 100. If the mold contains a protrusionto form the movable region depicted in FIG. 3B, the plastic materialwould have to stretch around the protrusion from third hinge of seam 208down to the region near the first hinge or seam 202 and near the secondhinge or seam 212 (see FIG. 3B). The contact with the mold would trapmaterial at the region near the third hinge or seam 208, and not allowthe material to fully form down into the region near the first hinge orseam 202 and near the second hinge or seam 212. Moreover, forming themovable region 110 with such a protrusion would cause plastic to becometrapped at the movable region 110, which may prevent other areas of thecontainer to not have sufficient plastic to properly form those areas.

Stretch blow molding the container 100 into the shape as illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2, and 3B also reduces the wall thickness of the movable region110 and reduces the occurrence of thick amorphous plastic sections nearthe movable region 110, as compared with forming the container with themovable region 110 extending outwardly from the container as depicted inFIG. 3A. This may allow the amount of plastic material present in themovable region 110 to be reduced without detrimentally affectingcontainer performance, and, in some instances, this technique improvesthe performance of the movable region. Likewise, forming the containerinto the shape as illustrated in FIG. 3A may allow a more uniformdistribution of plastic material in the base 108. Moreover, theincreased rigidity may allow for the inversion of the movable region 110without a substantial net distortion of the container body 106.

FIGS. 4-6 schematically illustrate a container forming assembly forforming a container from a parison according to one embodiment of theinvention. The assembly includes a mold 14 a, 14 b, band 14 c that canbe driven by a drive mechanism to enclose parison 12. A container 100 isblown within the closed mold assembly, as shown in FIG. 5. A recess 16may be disposed in a sidewall of mold 14 a and mold 14 b to form a twosided grip for a container. FIG. 8 illustrates one side of the mold 814for forming a container as shown in FIG. 1 In this embodiment each sidemold would include a recess 816 that has a first surface 804 adapted toform a first outer grip portion (204), a second surface 812 adapted toform a second outer grip portion (212), a third surface 806 adapted toform a first inner grip portion (206) adjacent the first outer gripportion (204), a fourth surface 810 adapted to form a second inner gripportion (210), and a fifth surface area 808 adapted to from a ridge area(208) of a movable gripping region 110. The forming assembly may includea first push rod adapted to rotate the first portion 204 of a movableregion 110 about first hinge or seam 202 to invert the movable region sothat it forms a gripping region. A second push rod may be employed tocause the second portion 212 to rotate about hinge or seam 214 to pushboth sides of the resultant gripping regions within container 100 priorto filling the container with food product. As shown in FIG. 9, asection 900 of the recess 816 that corresponds with surfaces 806 and 810and surface area 808 is movable between the inactive position shown inFIG. 8 and the active position shown in FIG. 9.

his system also benefits from requiring less expensive components. Whileother systems may use complex pneumatic, hydraulic, or cam operatedmeans to push pieces of the mold inward at a specific point in the blowmolding cycle, the exemplary embodiments may use a simple mechanicalmeans of inverting the movable region 110. This reduces the cost,molding time, and complexity of the mold set up as compared withconventional systems.

Thus, the container 100 according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention may improve the sufficient rigidity, definition, andperformance of the container 100 at a movable region 110 therebyallowing a container to be formed that uses less plastic whilemaintaining the performance and appearance of the container.

The embodiments and examples discussed herein are non-limiting examples.The shape of the inset are not limited to the examples shown, as themovable region may blown outwarding a round or oval form and, wheninverted, still obtain the same function—decrease the volume of theblown container.

The exemplary embodiments illustrated and discussed in thisspecification are intended only to teach those skilled in the art thebest way known to the inventors to make and use the invention. Nothingin this specification should be considered as limiting the scope of thepresent invention. All examples presented are representative andnon-limiting. The above-described exemplary embodiments of the inventionmay be modified or varied, without departing from the invention, asappreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings.It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the claimsand their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically described.

1. A method comprising: receiving a parison; enclosing the parisonwithin a mold, said mold including a wall with a recess; inflating theparison into said mold to form a blow molded container, said blow moldedcontainer having a sidewall, a movable region formed at said recess, anda hinge circumscribing an interface between said sidewall and saidmovable region; and moving said movable region toward an interior of theblow molded container about said hinge before filling said blow moldedcontainer.
 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:releasing said blow molded container from the mold.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein said releasing step occurs before saidmoving step.
 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said releasingstep occurs after said moving step.
 5. The method-according to claim 1,wherein said mold comprises a first side mold and a second side mold,and releasing said blow molded container comprises separating the firstside mold and the second side mold from the blow molded container. 6.The method according to claim 5, wherein the first mold includes saidrecess and the second side mold includes a second recess.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said movable region forms a handle gripafter said moving step.
 8. A method for increasing crystallinity of ablow molded container, comprising: inflating a parison in a mold havinga wall with a recess to form a blow molded container having a movablegripping region, said movable gripping region being formed at saidrecess, said blow molded container having a hinge coupled to saidmovable gripping region, said hinge circumscribing an interface betweensaid blow molded container and said movable gripping region; and movingthe movable gripping region about said hinge toward an interior of saidblow molded container before filling said blow molded container.
 9. Themethod according to claim 8, further comprising: releasing the containerfrom the mold.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said movingstep occurs before said releasing step.
 11. The method according toclaim 9, wherein said moving step occurs after said releasing step. 12.A container forming assembly for forming a container from a parison, thecontainer having a first movable gripping region, the container formingassembly comprising: a mold adapted to form a first portion and a secondportion of the first movable gripping region, wherein said first portionis rotatable about a first hinge toward an interior of the container,said first hinge being formed at a first seam between said first portionand the container, and said second portion is rotatable about a secondhinge toward the interior of the container, said second hinge beingformed at a second seam between said second portion and the container;and a drive mechanism adapted to move said mold to enclose the parisonduring blow molding and to release the container after blow molding. 13.The container forming assembly according to claim 12, furthercomprising: a first push rod adapted to rotate said first portion aboutsaid first hinge before filling the container; and a second push rodadapted to rotate said second portion about said second hinge beforefilling the container.
 14. The container forming assembly according toclaim 12, wherein the mold of the assembly includes a first mold halfforming a first movable gripping region and a second mold half forming asecond movable gripping region, said second movable gripping regionhaving hinges, rotatable portions and the structure of the first movablegripping region.
 15. The container forming assembly according to claim14, wherein the first and second movable gripping regions are formed inthe container so that a consumer's hand easily fits into the invertedgripping regions.
 16. The container forming assembly according to claim14, wherein each of said first and second mold halves comprise: amovable gripping portion forming region including: a first surfaceadapted to form a first outer grip portion of said movable grippingregion; a second surface adapted to form a second outer grip portion ofsaid-movable gripping region; a third surface adapted to form a firstinner grip portion of said movable gripping region; a fourth surfaceadapted to form a second inner grip portion of said movable gripportion; and a fifth surface area adapted to form a ridge area of saidmovable gripping portion.
 17. The container forming assembly accordingto claim 16, wherein said fifth surface area is positioned between saidthird and fourth surfaces, and wherein said third and fourth surfacesare positioned adjacent to said first and second surfaces, respectively.